ABSTRACT
In this chapter we look at talking books (i.e. stories that are backed up with animation and sound-track) as this is an area which has caught the interests of many primary school teachers and their pupils. We raise some general issues of the role of the teacher, or parent, in supporting children using multimedia texts and the ways in which learners interact with the text. After a brief account of what it is to be a reader we describe the talking books which were the focus of small-scale case studies. These studies of children working in school and at home illustrate the way in which talking books can be used to support the mechanics of reading and help to motivate children to want to read. We conclude the chapter with a discussion of the limitations of currently available software and highlight areas for development.
